I Never Planned On You (a Newsies fanfic)

Lost and Found

Winnie's POV:

With my hard-earned papes under my arm, I walked down Bumbershoot Avenue, determined to sell all my papes.  Anger flared up in my checks and my empty hand habitually bawled into a fist.  

I'll  show Jack! I thought.  I'll show him not to degrade me like that!  I'll sell all my papes...and his too!

 I'd left the scene before any one else.  I was bored and wanted to be the first person to sell all my papers.  If I reached the popular places before anyone else, I was sure to sell mine before this afternoon!  And then I'd be free the rest of the day to do whatever I wanted.  I just had to hurry.

My worn shoes echoed against the cobblestone sidewalk as I pressed on towards Manhattan Square.  There's where, even in the wee hours of the morning, there would always be a crowd of people, eager to here the headlines shouted by the local newsie.  Except, this morning, I don't think there was a person in all of New York who wanted to hear about the third week in the Trolley Strike.  I bet even Pulitzer was shaking his mangy head.

So, as I approached the crowded people, filtering passed them as I made my way to the middle of the square, I decided I'd...dramatize the truth.  Make the headline sound juicey without straying too far from the truth.

"EXTRA!!  EXTRA!!  VEHICLE EXPLODES, THREATHENING PEOPLES LIVES!!" 

"I'll take one, little boy," a stout man said with a low, menacing voice.  I turned around and nearly collided with the man's pudgy belly.  I looked up, my eyes widening as I fixed on the familiar face of Snyder the Swindler.  

"Thank ya, mista," I said gaily.  I handed him a paper in exchange for his nickle.  Then, in a lower tone, I added, "You can have this too - compliments of Newsies Incorporated!"  I lifted my leg and kicked him in the shins.  

Well, there went my plans of selling papers at the good spot.  At least I had convinced Snyder that I was a boy.  

I took off running, Snyder waddling behind me, with a set smirk on my face.  I would rather be chased by Snyder than sell lousy papes any day.

In fact, my mind was so focused on dodging and out-running Snyder, that I hadn't been watching in front of me.  Before I knew it, I was lying on the ground, my lungs and chest aching.  I groaned as I lifted my head to see who'd I'd bumped into.  A slight twinge of relief flooded through me as I realized that it wasn't Snyder - though I never really thought that it would be (he's too fat and slow).  

Instead, I was staring into the blue eyes of David - or Davey, as his younger brother called him.

"This seems to be a regular occurrence," he said, rubbing the back of his head like he'd hit in on the sidewalk.  I grabbed his wrist, yanked him to his feet, and swiftly guided him into a small alleyway.  I hadn't even realized that my cap had fallen off during the collision.

"Shhh!" I hissed as we crouched behind an unused fire escape ladder.  I peered through the steps, waiting for Snyder to pass.  My mouth was clamped shut over David's mouth, just to make sure he didn't ask any stupid questions at an inopportune time.

Just then, I saw the fat figure of Snyder pass by the alleyway.  Except, something caught his eye on the ground.  With a sickening grin, he bent down and picked it up.  I couldn't see what he'd found, but I didn't care.  He probably found a spider.  Hah!  A new friend.

After he had suspiciously observed the supposedly uninhabited surroundings, the man slowly walked away, apparently satisfied with his findings.  

About a minute passed, just to be sure that Snyder had actually left, before I removed my hand from David's mouth and breathed a breath of relief.

"Hey!  What was that for?" he exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowed angrily.

"You should be thanking me, not yelling at me," I stated calmly.  I knew that with him being new and all, he wouldn't have the slightest idea who Snyder was.  Because if he did, then he'd be thanking me on his knees.

"Who was that guy?"

"Man, you got a lot to learn," I said, shaking my head with a sad smile.  "Newsies Class 101.  That's Snyder - Snyder the Swindler.  He's paid to take as many street rats, that's us, into his jail for kids.  Otherwise known as the Refuge."

"Why was he running after you?  Are some- escaped convict or something?"

"Nah!  But he's been hunting me and Jack ever since we became newsies." I chuckled, replaying memories of me and Jack setting traps for the Swindler.

"Why you two specifically?" he asked, adjusting his grip on his papers.

"Boy, you sure do ask a lot of questions," I observed bitterly, shaking my head once again.

"I thought this was a class," he said with a playful smirk.  Yup, this kid would fit right in.

I sighed and glanced up towards the cloudy sky.  "Okay, Jack and I, we like to cause a ruckus.  We're troublemakers.  We...were a team."

"Were?" he echoed, lifting his dark brow.

"Okay, class is dismissed!" I announced with an annoyed tone.  I rose from my crouching position, and David did the same.  I turned around to see David's shock expression.

"

What's the matta?" I asked, slightly frightened by his manner.

"Y-You're a girl," he stammered, his eyelids wide open.

"Ain't you ever seen one before?" I was both amused and annoyed by his observation.  I was tired of people having the same exact response about it, but it was also funny to see their surprised faces.  But I wished I could've kept my secret a little longer.

"I just didn't think-"

"Lemme guess," I said slowly and sternly; "you didn't think newsies were girls?  Well, wake up, bud!  It's the turn of the century, new things happen."

"I didn't mean to offend you," he apologized.

"No one ever does." Without giving him another glance, I went in search of my lost cap.

"Please tell me you're the only female newsie...  I wouldn't hate to 'offend' anyone else." His voice sounded more scared than humorous.

"Nope, just me," I replied flatly.  "And that's how it's going to be.  But most people don't like the idea of a girl out on the streets - especially the Big Man Pulitzer.  So unless I want to be out of a job, I'm going to have to find my hat."

"Here, I'll help you," David offered kindly. 

With an approving nod, David and I retraced my steps, making sure not to go too close to the Square.

Just then, after there seemed to be no solution to the mystery,  David stopped and asked hastily,

"What did Snyder pick up earlier?"

"I don't know.  But can we-"

"When did you notice your hat was missing?"

"Um- after you noticed I was a girl?"

"Don't you see what this means?"

I gaze no response.

"Snyder has your hat!"